


Five Things the Doctor Has in His Room

by roane



Category: Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Ficlet, Gen, five things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-23
Updated: 2012-01-23
Packaged: 2017-10-30 00:44:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/325908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roane/pseuds/roane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of course the Doctor has a room. And there are reasons he almost never goes in there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Things the Doctor Has in His Room

“ _Doctor, do you have a room?”_

\--Rory, “The Doctor's Wife”

He does have a room. He doesn't spend much time there, of course. Sometimes the chatter of his companions overwhelms him, and he needs quiet. But not too much, and not often. There are things there, things he couldn't bear to leave behind—he, who has left behind so many things. They're scattered, piled here and there, reminders of a long, long history. **  
  
One  
  
** A scarf drapes over a hatstand. Ridiculously long, that scarf, a relic of an old incarnation. He loved that scarf. He's always suspected the scarf had loved him too. It had, after all, saved his life on several occasions. He might never know for sure, but he suspects that the TARDIS placed it in his path, perhaps even imbuing the scraps of yarn with a bit of herself. **  
  
Two  
  
** Near the hatstand is a small table. And on the small table is a rust-colored chunk of mineral. It's dusty, and looks as if it would stain your hands if you picked it up. It didn't when the Doctor first picked it up as a boy, but now, over a thousand years later, it might. A child's treasure, a rock found on a walk among the mountains of Solace and Solitude—a rock from a place that no longer exists.  
 **  
Three  
  
** There's a stack of clothing carefully folded in one corner. At the bottom of the stack, nearly hidden, is a glimpse of red and blue stripes on a white background. A ludicrous piece of clothing, really. He'd laughed when he saw it. It is a symbol of patriotism, ripped from the sky to be mass-produced on cheap cotton. But, like all symbols, it means more to the current owner than the value of the base components could explain. Even though he can barely see it, he always, always knows it's there. **  
  
Four  
  
** There is a library on the TARDIS, of course, but not all of the books on board are in there. Some are too valuable to leave lying about where a swimming pool might appear at any moment. Another Earth item—he has so many of those—a black-bound book with a picture of a pocket-watch on the cover. It's one of the few things in the room he's actually purchased. He didn't know the author, (although it was autographed), nor had he ever opened it, much less read it. He doesn't need to. It is the closest he will ever have to a biography, and he knows every word he would find there. **  
  
Five  
  
** Buried away, hidden behind the stacks of clothing, is a single shoe. As a shoe, it's worthless. Aside from having no mate, there's a large hole worn through the sole. A single, flat, woman's shoe from mid-20th century Earth, unlaced and destroyed. It is perhaps the most painful of all of the items he keeps hidden away, a reminder of a time when he was very young. A reminder of why the Earth of the 20th and 21st centuries is so precious, why it must be protected at all costs. The human race is, without a doubt, a wonderful thing—but he knows their future. They escape into the stars, and they survive long after their planet is gone. But the Earth, that place and that particular time, holds the greatest treasure he ever threw away. He has the shoe to remind him, should he ever forget.  
 ****  
So yes, the Doctor has a room aboard the TARDIS. And everything in it is a reminder of every single mistake he ever made.

**Author's Note:**

> I am immensely grateful to the Tardis Index File at http://tardis.wikia.com/ for help refreshing my memory of certain details.


End file.
